Employee and employment principles for Imperial_Chemical

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ICI » Topics » Employee and employment principles

This excerpt taken from the ICI 6-K filed Mar 21, 2007.

Employee and employment principles
As at 31 December 2006, ICI employed 29,130 people in more than 50 countries.

An analysis of employee numbers by business and geographical area may be found in note 5 relating to the Group accounts. ICI has a mixture of unionised and non-unionised operations around the world. ICI considers its relations with its employees to be generally good.

This excerpt taken from the ICI 20-F filed Mar 31, 2006.

Employee and employment principles
As at 31 December 2005, ICI employed 31,910 people in more than 50 countries.

ICI employment principles
ICI manages its global organisations through both its International Businesses and its Regional and Industrial Businesses, each of which is responsible for determining its own employees’ terms and conditions and employment policies within the framework of the following Employment Principles agreed by the ICI Executive Management Team.

These Employment Principles are fully consistent with the commitments given in both the ICI Sustainability Report and the ICI Code of Conduct.

Health and safety of employees
The health and safety of employees is a core value of ICI. Our policy is to ensure that all activities are conducted safely and that the health of our employees is protected. ICI sets demanding targets and monitors progress to ensure continuous progress in this area. We require every employee, and those who work on our behalf, to exercise personal responsibility in preventing harm to themselves and others. We communicate openly with our employees about our health and safety activities and performance and provide them with training to drive continuous improvement.

Development of people
ICI is committed to providing support to help release the full potential of all its employees, whilst recognising that the ultimate responsibility for personal development must rest with the individual.

The Company seeks to help every individual understand the personal strengths they can leverage whilst providing the support they need to grow and develop further, in line with the needs of the business.

Diversity
Our ability to become a high-performing organisation depends on our inclusion of people who come from diverse backgrounds and who think in different ways about creating value for our customers and stakeholders. The individuality and creativity that every person brings to the work place is welcomed and appreciated and it is our policy that everyone should be treated in a fair, open and honest manner.

ICI will provide equal opportunities for all employees, irrespective of their race, colour, creed, religion, gender, ancestry, citizenship, sexual preference, marital status, national origin, age, pregnancy, or any other reason prohibited by the laws of the individual countries in which it operates. This will apply with respect to recruitment, promotion, compensation, transfer, retention, training, benefits, and other employment actions.

Respect for the individual
It is the right of all people to be treated with dignity and respect. ICI is committed to providing and fostering a working environment that is free from harassment, discrimination, victimisation or bullying, and where all employees are treated with dignity and respect. Verbal or physical conduct that unreasonably interferes with another individual’s work performance, creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment, or adversely affects opportunities, will not be tolerated. Allegations of bullying or harassment will be taken seriously at all levels and will be dealt with in a sensitive manner.

Work/life balance
ICI aims to create a more productive and efficient workforce that will meet business requirements while supporting employees in successfully managing their personal and family commitments.

We aim to exploit the opportunities offered by new technologies to improve our ability to accommodate more flexible patterns of working, where the nature of the work makes this possible.

Our success in achieving this relies on the co-operation and shared responsibility of the Company and its employees, who are partners in the process of managing the balance of work/life issues.

Organisational change
Change is an important and inevitable feature of the world in which we live, and responding positively to change is vital to our success and growth as an organisation and as individuals. From time to time, this will also include changes to the structure of our businesses.

ICI’s commitment is to:

•	ensure that employees are kept informed about the issues and challenges facing the business;



ICI Group and its businesses	ICI Annual Report and Accounts 2005 17

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•	be sensitive to the implications of change from the perspective of our employees; and

•	be understanding and supportive of their needs and to seek to mitigate the effects of necessary business restructuring.

Communication and consultation
The Company is committed to effective consultation. It believes that knowledgeable and well-informed employees are critical to its success and that there should be clear channels of communication and opportunities for dialogue on issues which affect employees’ working lives.

The principal aims of communication and consultation are to:

•	improve employees’ understanding of the business and its goals;

•	increase mutual trust and commitment;

•	highlight any concerns which might have an adverse impact on the business; and

•	allow people to contribute their opinion and experience.

Performance and reward
Pay structures for employees at all levels should be designed to reinforce the link between performance and reward. Employees will, wherever possible, be set performance objectives which support the achievement of overall team and business goals, and their individual reward will reflect their performance against these objectives.

Reward will also recognise the prevailing business climate and the circumstances of the relevant local labour market.

ICI disability discrimination policy
The working environment of a disabled person may often contain barriers that affect equal integration and participation within the workplace. These barriers may take the form of unadapted equipment, physical access, or discriminatory attitudes and behaviour. By attempting to create an accessible and non-discriminatory working environment, the Company seeks to assist disabled people to achieve equality alongside their colleagues, and to make a full and positive contribution.

Unfair discrimination of any disabled worker or visitor is unacceptable and will not be tolerated by ICI. Allegations of disability discrimination will be taken seriously at all levels and will be dealt with in a confidential manner. Appropriate disciplinary action, including summary dismissal for serious offences, may be taken against any employee who discriminates unfairly against a disabled person.

In order to ensure that people with disabilities in ICI obtain equality of opportunity alongside others, and that they are actively encouraged to contribute and realise their potential, ICI is undertaking the commitments set out by the UK Employment Service to become a Disability Symbol (the “Symbol”) user and is subscribing to the initiative ‘Positive About Disabled People’, a nationally-recognised framework for developing good practice in relation to disabled people. As a Company, ICI is committed to improving work and career opportunities for all its employees, and the Symbol supports this for both current and future employees, some of whom may have a disability.

ICI’s commitments to disabled people include: a guaranteed job interview for applicants with a disability who meet the minimum criteria for a vacancy; regular consultation on what can be done to ensure that they can develop and use their abilities at work; wherever possible retaining employees if they become disabled; improving employee knowledge, awareness and understanding of disability to make our commitments work; and measuring the Group’s achievements against these commitments, planning ways of improving our performance and communicating future initiatives to employees.

This excerpt taken from the ICI 6-K filed Mar 14, 2006.